


5 times Sho was like a big brother for Jun

by Outdoorsy



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, M/M, Male Slash, OT5 Friendship, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-07-12 01:23:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19937716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Outdoorsy/pseuds/Outdoorsy
Summary: ... and the one time he wasn't.





	1. Onsen

Onsen

„Isn’t this amazing?“

With a content smile Sho closed his eyes and submerged into the water. Aiba gave a small laugh and looked up at the other.

„It is! It’s so great that you could come this time.“

They had finally made it to Hakone, just the five of them. Last time he had to miss put, but he had told his manager a month ago that he would personally see him fired if he didn't keep that weekend free. Aiba then had rented out a private ryokan with an onsen and here they were. The drive had been very enjoyable. He had spent quite some time next to Jun and had really enjoyed silently chatting to him as the back row slept.

Another laugh from Aiba let Sho look up again. „Look at Matsujun!“ Speaking of the devil...

Sho turned his head. He hadn’t even noticed the other man, he had been to quiet. With the filming of his new drama in Hokkaido and the concert preparations for not only one or ten but fifty concerts he had been quite busy lately and it started to show. The dark circles below his eyes were even more pronounced now that he was not wearing any makeup. Coming to think of it- Jun had been awake the whole time in the car and had even driven for the second half. It was very typical for their youngest member to care more about the others than about himself, so he had chosen to show sympathy to Aiba who had been driving and keeping him company. Sho had fallen asleep after they had left Tokyo and the only thing he recalled was the very soft pillow before Nino had woken him with a sharp elbow in the side when they had reached the service area.

Sho couldn’t help but smile again. Jun had his eyes closed, his head resting against a stone behind him and he was breathing evenly. So he was finally catching up on sleep.

„Anyways,“ Aiba got up and gave him a small wave while holding his towel in front of his crotch. „I’m going back inside. Please wake Jun-chan before he drowns.“

Sho hadn’t even thought of this. As if to prove Aiba right Jun moved and slid down and his head dipped below the surface, but before Sho could move he came alive again in a spluttering and coughing mess. Sho couldn't help but laugh at the scene unfolding before him.

„Not funny!“ Jun glared at him, his cheeks growing faintly red. „How long did I sleep?“

He rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed. He did look like he needed a lot more sleep. Sho only shrugged in reply, still laughing silently. „I only just got here. When did you get in?“

„I don’t know.“ Jun sighed again and this time Sho felt his stomach dropping as if something bad was going to happen. „I got in together with Satoshi-kun.“

Sho couldn't hide his shock, but tried to keep calm. This could not be healthy!

„Satoshi-kun got out almost an hour ago.“

In a small wince Jun closed his eyes again and furrowed his brow as if he was trying to concentrate.

„Hey, are you feeling ok?“ Sho asked, growing more worried by the second. Coming to think of it, Jun‘s face looked quite red and pale at the same time.

„I’m...“ Jun stocked, but then continued. „... fine, but slightly dizzy. I think I’ll get out now.“

He got up and the next things happened too quickly for Sho to recall them later. Suddenly he was holding a limp and very naked Jun in his arms.

Even though he had been in a hot bath for some while now, too, Sho could feel the heat radiating off their youngest member.

With a small grunt he got up and pulled Jun out of the water, carefully laying him down on the slightly colder floor. He couldn't help but notice that Jun had lost some weight again.

„Aiba?“ He called out, hoping that the other man had not yet left the bathing area. Though Jun was not heavy, he didn't want to drop him in a futile attempt to carry him inside over the slippery tiles. He was lucky, a few seconds later Aiba stepped outside and froze immediately as he saw the lifeless form of their youngest member.

„What happened?“ He asked, hurrying to Jun‘s side and crouching down. He ran his hand down Jun's arm until he grasped his wrist and started feeling for a pulse.

„Heat exhaustion, I guess. He passed out when he tried to get out of the bath.“ Sho ran a comforting hand over the hair of the unconscious man. He knew that Aiba was prone to panic, so he had to stay calm and take control of the situation.

„Can you get me some cold water and a sports drink?“

Aiba hurried off and while he was gone Sho turned Jun on his side, afraid that he might choke if he were to throw up. Jun stirred slightly, but didn’t open his eyes.

The next moment Aiba returned with a bucket of cold water in one hand and a bottle of Pocari sweat in the other. Nino and Ohno were trailing behind him, both looking increasingly worried as they took in the scene unfolding before their eyes.

Sho took the bucket of water and a towel Nino handed him and drenched the towel in water. The sudden cold made him shiver briefly, but he had to focus on the task on hand. He folded the towel and placed it on Jun‘s forehead. He then took a second wet towel and wrapped it around Jun‘s upped body, trying to get him to cool down quickly. A bit of ice would certainly help. With his hands Sho started scoping water over Jun's neck and wrists as cooling someone down quickly worked best if one cooled the major arteries.

The other members stood back and watched them, as if they were trying not to disturb a private moment.

Coming to think of it- he and Jun were completely naked, while Aiba was at least wearing a towel around his hips. But this was not the moment to think about his feelings and stuff. Though he was not quite sure how his body would have reacted if he was not as worried.

Carefully Sho tapped Jun’s cheek and he stirred again. „Jun, come on. Wakey wakey, you‘ve slept for long enough.“

The eyelids of the younger one started to flutter and after a few seconds he opened his eyes that looked slightly unfocused. He tried to sit up, but Sho pushed him back down. „Stay down, I don’t want you to pass out again.“

In the meanwhile Aiba had uncapped the bottle of Pocari sweat and handed it to Sho when he stretched out his hand.

„Drink this!“ With one hand he supported Jun’s head while he placed the bottle on his lips. „Slowly!“ He warned as Jun started to drink in big gulps. He didn't want Jun to throw up the little liquid he had gotten in him.

The next moment Jun rolled over and started gagging, vomiting out all he had drunken so far. So his attempts had been futile. For the first time Ohno spoke. „Should we call an ambulance?“

„I’m fine!“ Jun choked out and sat up, this time Sho didn’t stop him, but hovered a hand behind his back to stabilize him if necessary. He knew that an ambulance would be the best, but he also knew how much Jun despised going to the hospital when he was not feeling well. It was weird, but while he seemed to enjoy getting his check ups and being told how great he was doing, how healthy he was and that he should keep up the great work, he hated anyone seeing him when he was sick or hurt.

„We have to get him cooled down and get some water in him.“ He took the towel that had dropped from Jun’s forehead, soaked it in the cold water again and placed it around his neck.

„I’ll get some ice.“ Nino announced and left them. „Can you stand?“ Sho asked while he wrapped Jun’s arm around his shoulders. Jun nodded and up they went. Aiba took his other arm and draped it over his shoulders and together they dragged Jun towards the showers.

Nino returned just as they had turned on the cold water and started hosing down Jun. Sho felt his chest constrict at the shivers running through Jun's body, but he wouldn't risk anything. Nino placed the bucket of ice next to them and took out a small box from his back pocket. "I also brought a thermometer." He said and handed it to Jun while the others turned off the water.

When Jun didn't react fast enough Sho snatched the thermometer from him and placed it in his armpit, holding down the arm to ensure a good reading.

Jun was staring at him with his big eyes and Sho tried to make sure not to stare while he waited. And Aiba had noticed him staring judging by the eyebrows he wiggled at him when Sho looked up. But before he could say anything the thermometer beeped and Sho took it out.

"39.4°C." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. If he recalled correctly from his last first aid class they should get Jun to a hospital when his temperature exceeded 40°C, so he was still below that.

"Maybe we should really get him to a hospital..." Aiba mused as if he had read his thoughts. But for the first time in the last hour Jun really came to life.

"No hospitals! I'm fine!" He almost looked panic-stricken and Sho had to stop himself from placing a comforting hand on Jun's shoulder. After a few moments he offered. "We'll watch you for an hour. Your temperature has to drop by at least 1.5°C and you have to keep down a litre of water."

He turned the water back on and gave Jun another involuntary shower before he took the towel Aiba handed him and started drying him off.

"I can do it myself." Jun protested, but Sho acted as if he hadn't heard him, instead asking Aiba. "Can you get us a thin yukata?"

An hour later Jun was back to more humane temperatures and already laughing at Aiba's and Nino's bickering while they fought about which game was the best of the season. Ohno was fast asleep and Sho was sitting in a corner, reading a newspaper.

Jun, who was lying on a futon, turned around to finally face him and smiled.

"Thanks for taking care of me, Sho-kun!"

"You're an idiot, Matsumoto!" Sho replied but no one missed the warmth in his voice.


	2. Green room

  1. Green room 



The door hit the wall with a loud thud and Sho almost dropped his coffee. He didn't even need to look up to understand what had just happened. A sneezing Aiba had been enough of a warning- it was hay fever season again. And hay fever combined with generally being bad with mornings made for a very cranky Jun.

Instead of a greeting he muttered out an "I hate everything" and dropped down on his chair. They were filming VS Arashi today and it was going to be a long day. Jun sneezed, snuffled and finally blew his nose. If he wasn't as adorable with his slightly bloodshot eyes Sho would have found it disgusting, but Jun looked absolutely miserable.

"I think my allergy meds stopped working!" He complained to no one in particular, but as usually no one responded, given that Jun talked to himself like a lot. This time he looked as if he was expecting an answer and though Sho was afraid to add assault to injury he wordlessly picked up the tissue box in front of him and slid it across the table to Jun. He had miscalculated the distance and instead of coming to a halt in front of the other it slid right over the edge and slammed against the door. So maybe he had been a bit too forceful.

Jun looked up bewildered then saw Sho's rueful expression and started laughing. It had not been quite what he had envisioned, but at least it cheered Jun up and soon he was laughing along. They were only interrupted by one of Jun's big sneezes and now Jun looked as if he was embarrassed. Sho just kept laughing.

Soon enough Aiba had fed Jun a slightly higher dose of allergy meds and they were called for make up. Jun went first this time and Sho opened his newspaper again. They had been sharing a stylist for ages so he was quite used to Jun telling him that it was his turn now, but this time it was Ohno.

"What happened to Jun?" Sho asked slightly worried. Ohno just smiled one of his soft serves reserved for Aiba, Nino and Jun and answered. "According to Aiba antihistamines can make you sleepy and he took quite a few..."

Before Sho could jump and run to see if Jun was ok, Ohno stopped him. "Don't worry. He's asleep."  
  
True to Ohno's words Jun was fast asleep when he reached the make up room. Aiba and Nino were huddled around him and were obviously taking selfies with him.

"Maybe we should change his make up a bit," Nino suggested. "Just add some nice little moji to this. How about...." And with this he looked up and directly at Sho. "...'I love' and then a red heart?"

Aiba started giggling and nodded. "Sounds like a great idea!"

Sho just kicked Jun's chair as he passed and the sleeping man jerked awake.

"Sorry! Is it time yet?" He scrubbed his eyes with one hand and Nino burst out laughing.

"I think he did all the work for us. You look like a panda now, J!"

Being the awesome band-mate he was Sho changed make up artists for the day while Jun got his fixed.

"Eyeryone, let's start, VS Arashi!" Sho introduced them as always. "Spring has come. When do you think 'Ah, it's spring again?', Matsumoto-san?"

Jun stared at him bewildered. That was not what had been written on the board. Sho was supposed to talk about memories of their favourite concert, but he just couldn't resist. Jun was still a bit loopy and it started to show.

Aiba jumped in and clapped Jun on the shoulder. "Spring starts with my hay fever, right Jun-chan?" Jun looked bewildered and tried to protest, but Aiba continued. "This guy is still high on allergy meds, be nice, Sho-chan!" He scolded and Jun tried his best to look pissed what earned him an "Awwww~" from their audience.

Maybe, Sho mused, he should get a separate green room for him and Aiba after this to keep Jun from murdering them.

Jun did spend the rest of their filming glaring angrily at them.

To be safe Sho and Aiba hid in a toilet close by after their filming, giggling like teenage girls. If he was correct Jun had a photo-shoot after this so he should leave soon or at least not have enough time to behead them.

After about 5 minutes Aiba's phone rang and he held it up. "Nino!" He mouthed before he answered. Sho was trying very hard not to make a noise.

"Moshi moshi, Nino-chan?"

"It's safe, you can come back to the green room. I also guess you want to see this..." Without waiting for an answer he hung up, leaving them wondering what they would want to see.

Nino was waiting for them in front of the green room and placed a finger on his lips before opening the door. By now Sho was almost getting excited, though he had no idea what he was to expect.

The lights were dimmed and he could make out a human figure draped across the table. The laptop next to him was giving off a soft glow and bathed Jun's fine features in blue light.

"Did you give him more meds?" Sho asked bewildered.

Ohno just shrugged. "He drugged himself."

"That idiot..." Sho sighed and carefully pushed a stray strand of hair from Jun's face. "Did he forget about his photo-shoot after this?"

"Cancelled." Nino said. "The photographer is sick." With a certain fondness he watched Jun breath evenly.

"He's free after this, right?" Sho looked over to Aiba. "This is basically your fault so you'll have to carry him."

Jun only woke briefly as they hoisted him up on Aiba's back. "Sweet dreams!" Ohno sent them off with a small wave. As Sho was the only one who was free for the next hours he had volunteered to bring Jun home.

So currently Jun was resting stretched out on the backseat. He had only murmured something incomprehensive when Aiba had helped him into Sho's car and was still asleep. Aiba really had to get better allergy meds, Sho decided. Some that would not make him or Jun sleepy like this. And maybe it would help if Jun had not taken an overdose. He just really hoped that he'd be fine.

They had checked afterwards and while Jun was still within the limits of the daily dose it was supposed to be taken split up in 6 doses, not 2.

"Jun?" He carefully shook the sleeping man awake when they had reached his mansion. "Are you with me?"

Jun blinked a few times and yawned. "Sho-kun..." He closed his eyes again and Sho sighed. It had been some time since Jun had last called him Sho-kun and it made him want to protect the younger man.

"We're home, let's go sleep in a real bed." Sho felt the heat creep up in his face when he realized how wrong this sounded. Thankfully Jun was still a bit out of it.

In the end Sho decided to stay with him until he had to leave for his next filming, he didn't feel safe leaving Jun like this. As he manhandled him on his bed, Jun groaned slightly.

Sho stopped momentarily, thinking Jun was finally snapping out of it, but he only rolled over.

"You're my favourite!" He exclaimed and pulled Sho into a hug, making him lose his balance and land on Jun.

The impact made Jun's eyes snap open, but he only smiled and pulled Sho closer. Sho was not sure how his poor heart was going to survive this ordeal. But for now he would just enjoy. He just hoped Jun would let go before he realized what he was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again: Please don't try this at home. Taking to many antihistamines can have very bad effects on your health!  
> Fun to write anyways xD


	3. Accident

3\. Accident

"Sho-kun?" The small voice coming from his phone made his heart skip a beat. This was not the Jun he knew, the cool one, the one who could do everything by himself and who did not require any help at all. This Jun sounded scared and as if he had cried. Of course Sho knew, that Jun was not perfect, but he had taken to call the other members with his problems years ago, turning away from Sho. What had made him turn back? Didn't he reach the others? But first of all: What had happened?

"Jun?" He asked, skipping all the formalities they had used to build a wall between them. "Are you ok?"  
A small sniffle from his phone made his stomach sink even further.

"I... don't know." Jun's voice was getting quieter by the second. "I think I had an accident."

His chair hit the wall with a loud thud as Sho jumped up, pressing the phone to his ear with his shoulder and already pulling on his shoes.

"Can you tell me where you are?" He asked in frenzy. The phone stayed silent and when Sho checked the line had been cut.

"Shit!" He cursed and almost fell when he pushed the door open with a bit too much force. His phone binged again. A message. From Jun. He sighed in relief. It was a GPS location quite close to his apartment. Lucky. Or maybe that had been the reason Jun had called him.

For once Sho didn't care about covering his face. Let the paparazzi take all the pictures they wanted to, this was more important. Before he had realized it he had started to run, the only thing anchoring him to reality was the blinking GPS marker on the map.

When he reached the location he started looking, but couldn't see a single person. Jun had been on the phone with him just before he had sent the location so he HAD to be here.

"Jun?" He called out in a small voice. Nothing. No one was here. He was starting to freak out even more. There was only a small street with dimly lit street lamps, a single tree and a building site fence. He stopped dead in his tracks.

When he shone his phone light down the hole in the ground he almost cried out in shock and relief. There was a human figure down there. Jun. And he was not moving.

"Jun!" In a not very elegant descent Sho made his way down the hole. "Jun?" The younger man was very pale and when Sho took a closer look his face was covered in a sticky, dark liquid.

"Shit! Jun!" He carefully touched the shoulder of the lifeless figure, just hoping that he was still alive.

"Sho-kun?" Jun's voice almost made him cry with joy.

"Are you hurt?" Of course he was. "What happened?"

Jun stayed silent for a while. "I was just walking home from the supermarket and the street lights here were not working, so the car didn't see me and I jumped out of the way..." He stocked, as if he was trying to recall what exactly happened afterwards. Sho was pretty certain that Jun had just fallen down the hole. At least the car had not hit him.

Carefully Sho lifted his phone light and shone it on Jun's face. He had a small cut above the right brow that was bleeding pretty badly.

"Does it hurt anywhere else?" Mirroring Jun Sho touched his right forehead. Jun copied the movement and winced.

"I feel ok, maybe a bit dizzy." He admitted.

"Should I call an ambulance?" Sho asked, already dialling the number, but Jun grabbed his wrist before he could lift the phone.

"I'm fine!" He insisted.

"You called me." Sho stated as if it was reason enough to call a doctor. Jun shrugged and seemed like he didn't want to talk about this.

"Fine." Sho sighed and got up from his position crouched down to Jun. The hole was not very big so it was a bit awkward. "Let's get you out of here first."

Jun didn't have any problems getting up which gave Sho hope that they could in fact avoid going to the hospital, though he didn't really feel safe leaving Jun like this.

It was only when he grabbed Jun's wrist to pull him up that the younger man cried out in pain. The dim light of Sho's phone revealed a blue and purple swollen wrist.

"That's it. We're going to get you checked out." Sho decided and before Jun could even protest he had winked down a taxi to bring them to the nearest clinic.

It turned out that Jun had a hairline fracture in his wrist and the doctor ordered him to wear a splint for the next 6 weeks. The cut above his eyebrow had been fixed with a butterfly bandage and the doctor had warned them about possible complications of the concussion Jun most likely had. Then he had allowed Sho to take Jun home.

When Jun had protested that he was fine on his own, the doctor had only given him a stern look and Sho had readily agreed to look after the injured man.

So that brought them where they were now. Jun was currently lying in Sho's bed, hugging Sho's pillow so close to his face that the older man was afraid that he might suffocate himself.

"Matsujun?" He asked in a low voice. Jun was probably asleep, but he couldn't help but wonder why the injured man had called him. Jun breathed out slowly and Sho settled on the floor next to the bed.

"You know, you were the closest to me." Jun said silently, still burying his face in Sho's pillow and Sho couldn't help but wonder if he was talking about this evening or about their past.   
He had pushed Jun away countless times, but he had always come bounding back to him until he didn't and then there had been this wall between them. They had started breaking it down very slowly over the last years, but it was most noticeable in these moments when it was just the two of them.

Sho didn't know when it had started for him. He found himself watching Jun closer during rehearsals, waiting for a sign from Jun. Then he had started teasing Jun in front of the camera and Jun had started teasing back and suddenly there were these weird feelings he couldn't explain.

He had always been close to the other members, but being close to Jun wasn't something he felt like he could rely on so he started cherishing these moments. And at some point the affection he had started to develop for the other man had started to change, but Sho was a coward and so he just kept watching Jun, who, after not having received an answer, had finally fallen asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might seem a bit unfinished, but I kinda like this chapter. Try listening to "Sakura" when you read it, because that's what I was listening to while writing.


	4. Talk

  1. Talk



They all knew that for Jun Arashi came first, the other members came second and Jun himself would always come last. 

The day had started as usual; they met in the green room, were called for make up one at a time and were to start filming at some point. Inside the green room everything was normal. Ohno was asleep, Nino was playing on his Nintendo and Aiba was flipping through the weekly Shonen Jump. Jun was reading one of the gossip magazines they usually tried to avoid, but sometimes the staff left them lying around.

When the door opened they all looked up. „Matsumoto-san, Ninomiya-san, would you please come for make up?“ 

When they had left, Sho picked up the magazine Jun had thrown to the side when he got up. It was still open on the last page Jun had read and before Sho could put it away something caught his eye. The yearly Arashi popularity ranking. They usually didn’t care for this, but Sho knew that Jun was always a little hurt when things like this surfaced. The popularity ranking was joined by a pair ranking.

Sho froze. So that explained how quiet Jun was today. He was ranked last in the popularity ranking and his name was not even listed in the most popular pair ranking. As if to be nice they had only listed the five most popular pairings as well as the worst. ShoJun. 

Sho felt his stomach drop. It was true that both of them were not really good with skin ship and touching. Not like Aiba, who had kissed everyone at least once and was constantly touching the others. He just let Aiba do his thing and of course they were very close, all of them were, so it was no wonder that „Sakuraba“ was ranked 2nd only after Ohmiya (consistent number 1). Third was "Tennen", the recent foundation of the sweets club had made for a sudden increase in popularity for the pair. Place 4 was Yama (always top 5) and in 5th place "Yamatarou", not a surprise after the recent fan-service they had shared. Jun's name was not even listed once.

He knew that for Jun Arashi came first, the other members second and Jun himself always last, but this had to hurt. Sho could feel his chest constrict at the thought. He also knew that Jun would never ever talk about this. He might be a bit moodier than usual or talk a bit less, but he always made sure not to burden anyone with his problems.

To make everything harder this was the first time Jun was appearing on television since he had hurt his wrist and he knew how much he hated showing weakness to anyone. It had already taken the effort of all the members and managers to convince him that he had to keep wearing his cast even on TV, especially on VS Arashi where he still could get hurt worse.   
  
This made for the worst set up in a long time since Jun was hurt both emotionally and physically topped with having to talk about this because if they didn't everyone else would.

"Welcome to VS Arashi! Let's begin!" Sho greeted everyone and they all smiled and waved in the camera. Jun was keeping his left arm well hidden in one of the big pockets of the sweatshirt he was wearing.

"Let's talk about recent accidents we had." Sho started, hoping that this would set the right mood for Jun to tell everyone about his injury. "Aiba-san?"

Aiba beamed at the camera and lifted his right hand to present a small Band-Aid. "I actually burned myself while making tea yesterday." Nino commented on his clumsiness and then everyone was staring at Jun, who wordlessly lifted his left arm sporting the splint he had been forced to wear.

Before the following silence could become unbearable, Jun started. "I actually had a small accident a few days ago myself. I tripped and broke my wrist."

The audience had started whispering and Sho could sense how uncomfortable Jun felt. To lighten the mood he added. "I was actually the one who had to convince this idiot to go to a hospital." Everyone started laughing, but the looks the other members sent him told him he should have mentioned that detail beforehand.

He finally managed to turn the attention away from Jun by introducing their guest team. As it had to be expected, Sho's plan did not quite work. Both guest team as well as their plus one guest commented on Jun's condition and to make matters worse, the announcer did as well. And he had not missed the fact that it had been Sho who had been with Jun after the accident.

"Sakurai-san?"

"Yes?"

"You mentioned that you were the one to convince Matsumoto-san to go to hospital. But we want to know what exactly happened."

Jun looked extremely uncomfortable. He had always been the one who was most affected by rumours, bad mouthing and generally everything people talked about.

ShoJun had been the pair to place last in the pair ranking and it was time to change this fact. Luckily Sho was standing right next to Jun, so he stepped closer and carefully lifted his fringe to show the camera the cut Jun had right next to the hairline. The audience was going wild. After he had made sure that the camera had seen the cut, Sho dropped Jun's fringe and carefully patted it back down.

"Jun called me after his accident."

Judging by the murmurs no one missed how he had called him Jun in front of the cameras.

"You can imagine my shock when I saw him covered in blood. Thankfully nothing worse happened, but you really had me scared." He gave Jun a soft smile.

Twitter was going to have a field day.

By now Sho was dead set on proving the world that ShoJun was not the worst pairing in Arashi. Jun on the other hand did not seem convinced. He shied away from Sho's touches and tried to dodge the cameras. And maybe it had not been his brightest idea to try to pull Jun away from the ball bouncing back at them in their turn of kicking sniper because now he was lying on top of Jun who looked like he was in pain.

In a few days everyone would see how he grabbed Jun's healthy arm, trying to stir him away from the ball, losing his footing and falling right on top of their youngest member on national television.

Jun was probably going to murder him.

To Sho's surprise he didn't die that day. Jun just stared at him and Sho grew increasingly uncomfortable as the sly smile spread over Jun's face. A knee pressed down in his crotch and Sho felt the blood pooling in places it should not go while on TV.

Aiba was the first to recover and he pulled Sho off Jun while Nino crouched down and helped Jun sit up. The audience was going ballistic.

Aiba casually positioned himself in front of Sho so the cameras could not see the bulge forming in his pants and Nino skilfully pulled all the attention towards Jun, fussing over him and demanding a doctor.

"I'm ok!" Jun declared and got up, albeit a bit shaky.

"Are you ok, Sho-kun?" The cameras turned and Sho bowed, covering his crotch with the jacket he had just shrugged off. "I'm so sorry! Let me make it up to you!"

Jun smiled and Sho felt shivers run down his spine. "You know that I don't come cheap, Sakurai-san."

How had his plan to cheer up the injured man gone so wrong and so right at the same time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long! I spent over 40 hours in hospital this week (working) and I was a bit dead afterwards, but here we go again. Slowly leaving safe haven.


	5. Emergency

  1. Emergency



Staring at the thermometer in his hand, Sho let out a small sigh. „Why didn’t you tell anyone?“

Jun just shrugged. „It was not a big deal and everyone ate the pudding.“

  
It had all started with receiving pudding as a part of their meal just before the last concert. Of course Aiba and Ohno had eaten most of it, but had convinced the others that this was the most amazing food they had ever eaten. And who could resist something like this? 

It was only hours later that they realized their mistake. Ohno had been the first to go down. As the end of the concert approached, he started feeling sick to his stomach and true to this he promptly emptied all the undigested pudding in a toilet bowl while they were getting ready for the encore.

Next to go down was Aiba, who had eaten at least as much as Ohno, shortly followed by Sho and Nino. Only Jun seemed fine, as he had eaten the least amount of pudding due to one of his restrictive diets he tended to indulge on.

It was only after Sho decided to get some water from the vending machine to calm his stomach that he heard the retching coming from Jun‘s room. Though he was still a bit queasy, he thought he’d survive to look after Jun for a minute. He had been wrong for as he saw the young man vomit he couldn’t help but flee from the bathroom to nosily empty the last bits of bile and food into the kitchen sink. 

„Sho-kun? Are you ok?“ A concerned Jun asked him as he uncapped the bottle of water. „Shouldn’t you be in bed?“ 

„I’m fine!“ Sho insisted though the slightly green color of his face was trying to prove him wrong. „You were also vomiting. What about you?“ 

Jun sighed and ran a weary hand over his face. „I didn’t eat as much as you guys, I’ll be fine. I’m not even nauseous anymore.“ 

The next morning brought an almost instant revival of all the members. Having gotten all the bad stuff out of their systems they ended up digging in at breakfast. It was only after a few minutes that Sho noticed how Jun had not even touched his food. With a frown he turned to the youngest member.

„Are you not hungry?“ He asked slightly concerned. Jun just shook his head but before he could disappear from the table, Sho grabbed his arm to make him stay.

The small touch made Jun shiver involuntarily and he tried to wrench his arm from Sho's grasp. The moment their eyes met Sho knew that Jun also knew about this. As quietly as possible he ushered the other man to his room and presented him with a thermometer he had snatched from the first aid kit in the hallway. 

„Why didn’t you tell anyone?“ Sho asked, his concern growing bigger by the minute. 

„It was not a big deal and everyone ate the pudding.“ Jun shrugged, but Sho didn’t miss the small wince when he moved his shoulders. 

„Jun?“ Sho was getting even more alert. „Is your neck hurting?“

The expression on Jun‘s face was answer enough. „And you didn’t have diarrhoea?“

Jun tried to shake his head, but again stopped as if the motion was hurting him. 

Before he could even answer, Sho had reached for his phone and dialled 911. 

By the time someone had answered it began to dawn on Jun that this was weird and he tried to protest, only to have Sho lift his hand to stop him.

"Yes. 35-year-old male, currently conscious... He has a fever of over 39°C... He has been vomiting since yesterday... He says his neck hurts... Yes... Thank you!"

Turning to Jun he asked. "Do you have your insurance card with you?"

Jun tried to nod, winced and answered. "Yes. Why? What's going on?"

"The ambulance will be here in 5 minutes."

"Ambulance?!" Jun sounded bewildered. "This is just a normal 24h bug!"

"I hope so. But my brother had the same symptoms a few years ago- high fever, vomiting and neck pain. He was hospitalized for over a week with meningitis."

Sho knew that he had to stay calm, but on the inside he was panicking. How had he missed the fever yesterday? Jun would be alright... he had to be alright! People died from meningitis... Flashbacks from the time his brother had been hospitalized were intruding his thoughts and he found it hard to breath. He had to breath. Don't let Jun notice his panic.

"Sho-san?" Jun was frowning at him. "I'm fine. You know that I often get fevers when I'm stressed and that pudding incident sure did stress me. I'm certain that it is nothing!"

"No!" Sho grabbed Jun's shoulders, close to shaking him. "You don't understand!"

For a moment it looked like Jun was starting to understand, if the slight panic in his face was any indication, but then he shoved Sho away and got up, quickly putting some distance between them, before he sank back down on the other end of the bed.

"Sakurai-san." He said in a very low and calm voice. "You're scaring me. Like in YOU are scaring me."

After a short moment he added. "Could you please leave my room and turn off the light when you do so?"

Jun was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Does your head hurt?" Sho asked carefully, slowly closing the distance between them again.

"It's nothing!" Jun replied and opened his eyes he had closed for a moment again. He noticed than Sho was not doing as he had asked him to.

"Now. Do I have to point you the way to the door?"

Calm Jun was actually more terrifying than impatient Jun or angry Jun. But on the other hand- Jun was displaying the symptoms of a disease that could kill people, if not treated in time.

A knock on the door interrupted them and now Sho did hurry to the door, eagerly letting the paramedics in.

A small thump made him spin around. Jun was gone and only after a few moments he noticed the limp figure next to the bed.

Later Aiba told him how he had tried to make Sho snap out of his panic, but in the end it had been Nino who slapped him and shouted at him until he finally looked at them.

When they reached the hospital they were informed that they were not allowed to see Jun for the next 24 hours.

"But I need to see him!" Sho insisted. "I need to know if he is ok!"

The doctor gave him a pitiful smile. "I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to give out information to anyone who is not related to Matsumoto-san."

"I was with him just until you brought him in!" The doctor smiled his smile again and Sho felt his heart sink. Fighting back he added. "I'm his boyfriend."

"Sho-kun?" Jun asked in a small voice. "I'm sorry."

The weakness in his voice made him sound even younger and more vulnerable and Sho felt his chest clench.

"It's ok. As long as you get better." He carefully ran a thumb over the back of Jun's hand he was holding.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I'm sorry for everything I said!"

Sho smiled softly. "Stop the apologizing. I'll only accept an apology after you get better."

Jun averted his gaze as if to hide the tears Sho had already noticed but decided not to comment on.

"How did you get them to let you in?" He asked as if to change the topic.

Sho carefully let go of Jun's hand.

"I told them I was your boyfriend." He laughed, hoping that Jun would also laugh and they could stop talking about this. He didn't do feelings like this.

To his horror Jun turned away, pulling up the blanket. "That's nothing to joke about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your great comments! I was very happy and hope I managed to live up to your expectations with this chapter.  
> We're getting closer to the end and it's getting more serious.  
> The symptoms described are a classic constellation and in kids with vomiting without diarrhoea we always have to look for meningitis (random medical fact).


	6. Drunk

  1. Drunk



Sho had thought their relationship was finally improving but Jun had been ignoring him ever since he had been discharged from hospital.

Of course he could not ignore him completely, but he avoided Sho as soon as they were not filming and even when they were he was distancing himself and whenever Sho tried to direct a question at him, he either passed it on or answered in one or two words. The fans must have noticed, but even if he tried to talk to Jun over his phone all his messages were ignored.

For today they had an interview scheduled and Sho was actually a bit afraid since they were to talk about their relationship with the other members.

Interviewer: "So, you've been in the same group for almost 20 years now. How would you say your relationship with the other members has changed?"

Ninomiya: "I'd say we all grew up. When we started I only knew Jun-kun and Aiba-kun really well, but now those four are almost like my family."

Aiba: "In some cases it's always been like that- Sho-chan has always been like a brother for Jun."

Matsumoto: "I would not quite put it like that..."

Sakurai: "Jun needed looking after when he was young." (Laughs) "And to be honest- that has not changed that much."

Interviewer: "Recently fans have been speculating about the relationship between the two of you."

Matsumoto: "We're bandmates."

Sakurai: "I actually did some rescuing recently." (Laughs)

Aiba: "He's right! He was the one to pull Jun-chan out of the onsen after he passed out because of the heat."

Ohno: "And he brought Jun home after he had taken an overdose of allergy meds. You should have seen him, he was quite cute when he was high on meds."

Matsumoto: "I'm not cute!"

Nino: "Yes, you are! Sho-chan also brought J to hospital after he broke his wrist."

Sakurai: "He called me, because I was closest to him."

Matsumoto: "..."

Nino: "And Sho-chan also noticed when Jun was really sick recently. You might have read about it." ( _Matsumoto-san was recently hospitalized for meningitis._ )

Matsumoto: "Can we stop talking about all the embarrassing things that have been happening to me?"

Aiba: "Everyone gets sick and I think it was quite cute how much Sho-chan cared. Just like a proper older brother."

Interviewer: "So Arashi is really like a family?"

All: "Yes."

Matsumoto: "And they can be equally as annoying."

Back in the green room Jun only turned around. "Guys, what the hell was that?"  
Before anyone could answer him he had picked up his bag and stormed out of the room.

Nino was the first to speak. "I think you have a rather big problem now, Sho-san. I just hope J doesn't shut himself off like last time."

"I'll try to catch him and get him to talk to you." Ohno offered, but Sho just shook his head. "This is my problem. I'll try to solve it."

It was only when Aiba spoke that Sho felt tears pricking in his eyes for the first time in ages.

"I just wished that you were more open with your feelings for Jun. You have loved him for a long time, haven't you?"

The chance for Sho to make up with Jun came faster than he had anticipated. Just as he was about to turn off the lights and get into bed his phone rang. Matsumoto Jun. He was tempted to just ignore it, but maybe this was Jun reaching out for him and how could he ignore that?

"Yes?"

"Sakurai-san? It's Oguri Shun."

The oh-so-familiar fear started settling in Sho's stomach. "Is Jun ok?"

He could hear other voices in the background and after a short pause Oguri answered. "He's fine, albeit very drunk. For the last half hour or so he has been talking about you and how you saved him countless times."

He could hear people laugh in the background. "So I was wondering if you could come get him?...No!... Here, drink this...."

Maybe he was not too late. Maybe this could be fixed. Before he could form another coherent thought he heard that familiar, slightly nasal voice, "Shooooo-kun!", followed by a "No! Jun. Give me that phone!"

Oguri gave him an address and for the sixth time in half a year Sho was on a rescue mission, only hoping that Jun would not be able to remember this.

"Shooooo-kun!" Jun was completely drunk. He was swaying on his feet, even though Oguri was holding him upright and his eyes looked slightly unfocused.

"What would I do without you?" Oguri had deposited Jun in his arms and now he was hugging Sho while trying to stand.

"You'd be dead." Sho deadpanned and turned to Oguri. "What the f*** did you give him to drink?"

Oguri just shrugged and handed Sho Jun's bag. "Thanks for getting him. I would have brought him home myself, but he insisted on being saved by you." He laughed and gave Jun a short pat on his back, which made him jump and give Oguri a loop-sided smile.

He had never seen Jun this drunk, usually that was reserved for his best friends and Arashi only saw the sunglasses and painkillers the next morning.

Carefully Sho stirred Jun towards his car and helped him on the passenger seat. He then wordlessly handed him a plastic bag.

"Hang onto this for me."

Soon Sho noticed that drunk Jun was extremely talkative and a tiny bit naive.

"Shun said I suck at feelings. But I think I'm ok, don't you agree?"

"Why do people like it that much when you take care of me? I like it, too, but..."

"Sho-kun? I feel weird..."

Soon afterwards he heard Jun retch. At least he was using the plastic bag. It was only when Jun stopped talking that Sho turned to look at him.   
Jun's head was resting on the window and he looked so much younger and vulnerable that it made Sho's chest clench. How could he ever push Jun away?

When they reached his mansion Jun was fast asleep and Sho couldn't pluck up the courage to wake him. He carefully took the plastic bag and trashed it before he hoisted Jun up in his arms and carried him inside the house. He was lighter than he looked. He knew that Jun had been trying to gain weight through working out, but it never quite worked for him.

It was only when he put Jun down on his bed that he stirred again. Sho watched closely as Jun sat up, but before he could do anything he had started to gag and covered both himself and the sheets in vomit. Sho had reacted fast enough and had taken a step back, but when Jun lost his balance he managed to catch him in time.

Jun looked up and murmured. "I feel sick. Sho-kun..."

Carefully Sho helped Jun undress and changed the sheets before he helped him back to bed.   
"Will you be fine without me?" He asked as he grabbed a thin blanket from the end of his bed to move over to the couch.

"I'm never fine without you."

Sho froze. Jun just continued as if he was speaking with someone else. "But Sho-kun never liked me back like that. He even made fun of it and used it as an excuse and laughed about calling me his boyfriend. Ne, Shun, it's pathetic!"

Jun was clearly still very drunk and out of it, but usually drunk people told the truth and Sho felt all kinds of emotions while he listened to Jun's rambling, who seemed convinced that he still was at Oguri's place.

"But why would he suddenly like me back after 20 years? And I know that I should give up and just find someone else, but..."

"Jun?" Sho asked carefully. "I'm right here. You're in my apartment. Oguri got me to pick you up, don't you remember?"

Jun obviously didn't because he stared at Sho as if he had just seen a ghost. Sho smiled softly and placed a hand on Jun's head, smoothing down the bedhead Jun was now sporting. "I like you back. But I'm sure you won't remember tomorrow. Just sleep, we'll talk tomorrow."

In a sudden burst of self-confidence he tossed the blanket and climbed into bed with Jun, pulling him closer until he came to rest against his chest. Jun reeked of alcohol and vomit, but for now he didn't care.

The first thing Jun noticed in the morning was that his head hurt like hell. It must have been one hell of a night. The last thing he recalled was complaining to Shun about how Sho just didn't care for his feelings. For now he was lying in a very nice bed. And he was not alone. He was not wearing his glasses so everything was a bit blurry, but the smell was enough and he recoiled. How did he end up in the bed of the person he didn't want to see ever again? And Sho was hugging him from behind. He tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but it only made Sho first stir and then open his eyes.

"Jun?" He asked sleepily, "Did you sleep well?"

Sho had finally let go of him and with a very inelegant "umpf" Jun fell out of bed in a mess of tangling limbs, pulling Sho whom he tied to use as support with him. 

"Hey? Are you ok?" Sho asked in a worried tone but for now Jun couldn't answer. Bile had started rising in his throat and he slapped a hand in front of his mouth before he scrambled away, up and towards the bathroom.

After a few moments the door opened behind him and from the edge of his vision he could make out Sho, who carried a glass with water and a towel. He carefully crouched down next to Jun and placed the glass on the floor.

"Can you come to the kitchen when you fell more like yourself? We need to talk."

After a quick shower and a very long time Jun spent on making out the worst case scenarios for their talk he finally found the courage to leave the bathroom.

The kitchen smelled like coffee and for the first time he felt like he might actually be able to keep some down.

A mug for him was sitting on one end of the table and timidly Jun sat down next to it, carefully avoiding to look at Sho who was leaning against the kitchen counter.

When he didn't say anything after a few moments Jun asked. "You wanted to talk."

Sho sighed, sat down directly across Jun and waited until Jun finally looked up.

"You know I didn't help you all these times because I felt like an older brother towards you?"

Jun didn't answer. So it had only been because they worked together or maybe because Satoshi asked him to or...

"I did it, because I like you, Matsumoto Jun."

The world stood still for a moment as Jun searched for Sho's eyes to see if he was telling the truth, but his face showed nothing that could make him think otherwise.

"Don't joke about this." He murmured, burying his face in the coffee cup, but now the smell made him nauseous.

A warm and soft hand on top of his made him look up again and with a very serious expression Sho repeated. "I am in love with you, Jun."

And then the world stopped completely as Sho kissed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not completely happy with this, but it's done. I'm already planning my next project!
> 
> Fun fact: Jun used to be the one who mispronounced Sho's name as he used Sho-o-kun instead of Sho-u-kun (the correct way of pronouncing his name)

**Author's Note:**

> Greetings from Japan where I am now. I'll try to update regularily, but Japanese people have a different view on how much an intern should work. Anyways, I'll try to stay straight with my medical facts, though Jun should have been in an hospital...  
> As always: comments and kudos very welcome ;)


End file.
